Police officers are people whom we trust to prevent crime and to keep our community safe. The good thing is that many of our police officers have dedicated their lives to protecting the people. We owe the safety of our community to these law enforcement professionals.
However, although this can be said of a majority of police officers, there are also others who are not so keen about keeping their sworn duty of protecting the people, instead they violate the rights of law-abiding citizens. Any victim of police brutality has the right to make a legal claim against an abusive police officer and the police department where they work.
Sometimes police brutality can injury or even kill innocent victims and when this happens, you should seek the help of a police brutality lawyer who has knowledge and experience in police brutality and civil rights laws.
When police carry out their duties, they are actually given broad authority to carry it out. These powers, however, are limited. A police officer going beyond the limits of his authority and causing injury to individuals can be liable for police bruatilyt and abuse.
If you are a victim of police brutality or abuse, here are some types of legal claims you can file.
Police may only use force that is reasonably necessary to carry out their lawful duties. There are many factors that affect a claim of excessive force like the reason why the police attempted to stop or arrest an individual, the way the person responded to the police requests or demands, and the circumstances surrounding the encounter.
There are times when it is necessary to use force but it should only be used at these situations. If a suspected individual is unarmed, acts in a non-threatening manner, or follows directions, police are not allowed to hit, rough up, or hurt the person. Aggression in a restrained individual is not a license for police to keep on using force on him. If injury results from illegal excessive force then this can be the basis for any legal claim for excessive force
When a police takes an individual into custody without an arrest warrant and without probable cause then the claim for false arrest arises. If a police sees you committing a crime or suspects that you will soon commit one, then he has probable cause to arrest you. When police lack legal jurisdiction, the person taken into custody may have a claim for false arrest.
You cannot succeed in your case by simply proving that the police officer was careless or negligent in his duty. The evidence should show that the police had knowledge that he was acting in an unreasonable or unlawful manner and the injury was caused intentionally. Only an experienced attorney can handle a police brutality case. To make a proper claim, the attorney must investigate all the relevant evident and evaluate the circumstances surrounding the police conduct and the victim’s injuries.